Overview

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have established a Joint Programme in Guatemala entitled the "Maya Joint Programme” using a pass-through funding modality. The Maya Joint Programme contributes to improving the situation of the Maya, Xinca, and Garifuna peoples in Guatemala by advocating for an equal and fair justice system, supporting their right to bilingual and intercultural education, and autonomous political rights and representation. The Joint Programme builds and strengthens national and indigenous capacity to enhance sustainable development and eradicate poverty. The Maya Joint Programme also contributes to the transformation of Guatemala into a more plural, multicultural state.

The Maya Joint Programme encompasses:

A duration of four years, from 20 January 2009 to 31 December 2012; and

Partnerships with the Ministry of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia) of the Government of Guatemala, and indigenous civil society organisations.

Assistance Strategy

The overall goal of the Maya Joint Programme is to support the advocacy efforts of the Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna peoples in Guatemala for equal individual and collective rights and to create a more plural, multicultural state. Their human rights include the right to: land, natural resources, good quality of life, non-discrimination, justice, culture, inclusion and participation in civil society, and the right to autonomous social organisation. To move towards these goals and the attainment of their rights, the Joint Programme is composed of three main components:

Objective: Support indigenous towns to exercise their individual and collective rights through the empowerment of indigenous organisations through case work on strategic litigation; and familiarise indigenous human rights lawyers,legal workers, civil society organizations, and academia on the basics ofstrategic litigation and its viability as a method for socialchange for human rights.

Objective: Implement a system of intercultural bilingual indigenous education (including cultural components), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, and indigenous organisations, families and leaders.

Component 3 - Political Participation:Recognition of the Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna peoples as autonomous political subjects; with the political right to indigenous participation and representation (this component will be a key indicator of the legitimacy of the political democratic system in Guatemala).

Objective: Effectively train Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna leaders to exert their rights and encourage their equal political representation.

The Joint Program has two cross-cutting issues: environment and women’s rights. Both are related directly to the three aforementioned components: (1) through the inclusion of cases for strategic litigation; (2) as part of the implementation of an education policy; (3) from the knowledge and participation in sustainable uses of natural resources; and (4) for the training, participation and representation of Mayan, Xinca, and Garifuna women in political spaces.

The main objective of the Steering Committee is to facilitate effective implementation and coordination of the Maya Joint Programme. The Steering Committee consists of representatives from: the OHCHR, UNDP, and UNICEF, the Ministry of Planning and Programming of the Presidency (Secretaría de Planificación y Programación de la Presidencia - SEGEPLAN), government officials, and civil society organisations.

Decision Making

The Steering Committee discusses and approves work plans and budgets as well as any substantive or financial issues pertaining to implementation of the Maya Joint Programme in Guatemala. The members assume responsibility for performing joint monitoring of Maya Joint Programme activities. Decisions are made by consensus. Members provide regular feedback on its implementation and propose any necessary corrective actions to resolve problems, ensure accountability, and make recommendations.

The Administrative Agent [Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office (MPTF Office) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)] for the Maya Joint Programme is responsible for the receipt, administration, and management of contributions from donors; disbursement of funds to the Participating UN Organisations; and consolidation of narrative and financial reports produced by each of the Participating UN Organisations and Non-UN Participating Organisations, and provision of these reports to the Steering Committee for onward submission to the donor(s).

Participating Organizations are required to submit final year-end expenditures by April 30 in the following year;
Interim expenditure figures are submitted on a voluntary basis and therefore current year figures are not final until the year-end expenditures have been submitted.